It was the seat of the famous Kalinga dynasty. It was later ruled in small Kingdoms by various dynasties, Islamic rulers, Marathas and after the II Anglo Maratha War by the British from 1803, . During the British period, initially it was with the Bengal Province and on 1.4.1936 it was made into a separate "Orissa Province". After independence, amalagamating 24 small princely states, it was declared as a State of Orissa in 1950.

Cuttack, Bhubaneshwar, Rourkela, Balasore, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Bolangir.

Mahanadhi.

Harekrushna Mahtab - 1947 - 1950.

Odissi.

Paradip.

1. ANGUL: Industrial capital of Odisha., as mineral deposits are more here. Jindal, Bhusal Steel and Aluminium factories, BALCO aluminium factory, and a number of other industries are here. Wild Life Sanctuary and temples are the places of interest. Jat Festival is very famous here.
2. BOLANGIR: Naturally beautiful district. Ordnance factory is located here.
3. BALASORE: Naturally beautiful district with lot of picnic spots. Chandipur the missile testing centre is located in this district.
4. BARGARH: Hirakud dam is located in this district. Agriculture plays an important economic role. "Sambalpur" textiles originate from this district.
5. BHADRAK: Named after the famous Bhadrakali Temple.
6. BOUDH.
7. CUTTACK: Former Capital of Odisha. Commercially important city. Famous for filigree work on silver, ivory and Brass. Woven Silk and Cotton fabrics are famous here. Central Rice Research Institute is located here. Educational institutions are spread throughout the district.
8. DEBAGARH.
9. DHENKANAL: A former princely state. Forest coverage is more.
10.GAJAPATI.
11.GANJAM: Coastal district. Gopalpur is a famous place of attraction. Berhampur is famous for filigree work on Brass and Silver.
12.JAGATSINHPUR: Coastal district with Paradip Port.
13.JAJPUR: Steel Industry is the major activity.
14.JHARSGUDA: Coal mining is the major activity.
15.KALAHANDI: Formerly a princely state - Bauxite, Graphite mining and agriculture are the important activity.
16.KANDHAMAL: Phulbani the headquarters is a place of interest with a few Waterfalls around.
17.KENDRAPARA: Bhitarkanika Mangroves, Wild Life Sanctuary and Gahir Matha beaches are the place of interest.
18.KEONJHAR: Mineral deposits are large.
19.KHURDA: Capital Bhubaneshwar falls under this district. It is a Divisional Headquarters of East Coast Railway.
20.KORAPUT: Tribal district - a place of interest for nature lovers - Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., has a unit here and a couple of Thermal Power Stations are also located here.
21.MALKANGIRI: Tribal district.
22.MAYURBHANJ: A princely state during British period. Famous for Chau Dance.
23.NUAPADA: Densely covered with forest. Timber activity is more.
24.NABRANGPUR: Tribal district. Lord Jagannath temples are spread across the distrit. Rath Jatra, Maha Shivarathri, Holi, Dussehra are famous festivals.
25.NAYAGARH: Baisipati Wild Life Sanctuary is located in this district.
26.PURI: Lord Jagannath Temple and Rath Yatra are very famous. The famous Konarak Temple lies in this district. Chilka Lake and a few other places of interest are there.
27.RAYAGADA: Tribal and mineral rich district.
28.SAMBALPUR: Famous for "Ikat" handloom textiles. Forest, sanctuaries a lot of Hindu Temples are the places of interest.
29.SUBERNAPUR
30.SUNDERGARH: An industrial city. Rourkela , where India's first steel Industry with German collaboration was started is in this district.

1. The name means "the Lord of the Universe".
2. It was the seat and capital of the Kalinga Empire.
3. It has one of the oldest University of India - the Utkal University.
4. Sun Temple, Konarak; Lingaraj Temple, Kandagiri, Daulagiri and Udayagiri jain monuments; Vishwa Shanti Temple Stupa, Nandan Kanan wild life sanctuary are the major attractions.
5. Besides regular educational institutions, there are some higher level educational institutions and research centres are there.:
1.Institute of Physics.
2.National Institute of Science Education and Research.
3.Indian Institute of Technology.
4.Xavier Institute of Management and other institutions are there.

1. Lingaraj Temple, Lion Safari, Kandagiri, Udhayagiri and Daulagiri 2. Lord Jagannath Temple, Rath Yatra and Beaches around Puri. 3. Hirakud Dam 4. Chilka Lake.

Rath Yatra, Durga Puja, Puri Beach Festival, Konarak Dance Festival, Bhali Yatra, Dhanu Yatra, Makara Mela, Taratarini Mela, Lakshmi Puja and all other religious festivals.

NUAKHAI - a famous food festival celebrated in Sambalpur, Balangir, Kalahandi, Sonepur, Phulbani, Nuapada, Deograh, Sundergarh and Jharsguda regions.

Horse.

Sambalpuri, Sonepuri, Bomkai, Barapatti and Patta Sarees with patta paintings.

1. Steel Plant at Rourkela. 2. Sand Complex at Chhatrapur. 3. Heavy Water Plant at Talcher. 4. Coach Repair shop at Macheshwar. 5. Aluminium Complex at Koraput. 6. Aluminium Smelter Plant at Angul. 7. Fertilizer Plant at Paradip. 8. Leading IT companies having their bases at Bhubaneshwar.

1. Srila Vaibhava Puri Maharaj: Most revered spiritual leader of the Gaudiya Vaishnav traditions. He is the founder of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mission.
2. Biju & Naveen Patnaik: Father and son politicians and Chief Ministers.
3. Manoj Das: Reputed scholar and writer.
4. Jaya Deva: Sanskrit scholar and author of Gita Govinda.
5. Jayanta Mahapatra: Famous poet.
6. Roopa Misra: The first married woman to top the IAS exams in 2003.
7. Sanjaukta Panigrahi: Odissi dancer.
8. Sam Pitroda: Born at Titlagarh, Odisha. Brain behind India's Communication revolution, Chairman & CEO of World Tel Ltd., Advisor of UN., Director of Jet Airways; Chairman of Knowledge Commission.
9. Shiv Sunder Das, Debashish Mohanty : Indian Cricketers. 10.Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Takur: Most revered preacher of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. 11.Dilip Tirkey, Ignes Tirkey, Lazarus Barla : International Hockey players.

Kashipur.

It is held in Jajpur Dt., Lord Narain Gosain abode is inside a pond. On Bisuba Sankaranthi Day, the Odisha New Year Day, the Lord is brought out of the pond for couple of days to bless the devotees during the festival.